The Glazers, Ronaldo and transfers - every word of Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag's interview with British journalists

On Friday 9 December, the Manchester Evening News and British journalists from seven other outlets met Erik ten Hag at Manchester United's training camp in Jerez, Spain.

In an interview that ran for 51 minutes at the team hotel, Ten Hag addressed a range of topics as United prepared for the resumption of their season.

The conversation was conducted on the day of the first World Cup quarter-finals between Croatia and Brazil and the Netherlands and Argentina. It should be noted some topics covered have already developed in the news cycle, as United have extended the contracts of Diogo Dalot, Luke Shaw, Fred and Marcus Rashford.

Here is the transcript of Ten Hag's chat with the journalists:

Ten Hag: As you said, it is the past. We are looking to the future. Move on.

No.

It is up to you. Like I say, for me it is the past. I want to go to the future. We want a new future of Manchester United and he didn’t want to be part of it. We move on.

It can be. But I don’t give anything to that. We move forward. I don’t want to spend energy on that. It is the past. We are moving forward.

Once again, for me, he did what he did. It is the past. I don’t spend energy. We go forward and we prepare. We still have games to play in the first half season. We want to make a success of this season, so we focus on that.

What I feel is that in the summer, there was a disconnection between the club and the MN G\BB\\players BBand the fans. Now I feel a connection. We want to keep that process going because we want to make a reconnection. We want to be unified.

No. I see your point of view, clear. But I don’t see it like that. We are in a process. We are moving on. Ronaldo was part of it but he has chosen to take another pathway.

Yes but he chose. I don’t want to spend energy on that. I would have preferred it to be a different way because I wanted to work with him. He chose another way.

Yes.

Not all of it. I have seen most of it.

I have to do it. It is part of my job to do it.

When he is in good shape, he is a good player and he could help us to get back and achieve the objectives we have. That is quite clear. But he wasn’t.

No. I liked to work with world-class players. I know they can make a difference and help you to achieve your objectives. That is why you want to have such players in your dressing room. But what happened happened. But I have to make choices around players who are not performing and pick the best team. My accountability is in favour of the club and the team. They are the decisions I have to make. It doesn’t matter who is the person, it is about how we perform now.

Oh yeah.

Not in particular that I would ask him something or if I would say to him something. I did everything honest and open and transparent and we had talks about my vision so I don’t have a problem to talk with him.

I don’t want to answer this situation. I am open to talk with him so why not.

It was in the moment. I went to Uefa (for the coaches' convention) when it came out. The players went to World Cup so the time was not good to speak with them and obviously there are not so many other issues when they return so we focus on the players return and of course, there are 30 per cent of players left and we are training now with us. We are focussing on the restart and that has to be the only focus point.

I think the club can only be successful when all the decision-makers in the club are on one page and they back each other. That is the only way the club can be successful and operate.

Yes but only when we find the right player.

We do everything in our power. We are doing research on every opportunity and we do everything we can if that opportunity is there to contract them.

I cannot give comments on specific players. I will never do that. Players have contracts and I respect that but make sure we are working in the background to get the right players in.

We are talking with them to extend their contracts but we are in control because on all the players we have options and we will exercise these options.

Like I say we have options and we will do them.

You can see it this way but if the decision is not that good we have other options.

We are prepared for every situation, players have success, if they don't have success, so there will be some who are really happy and some will come back really disappointed and something can be in between, maybe when you're playing the final but lose, you're going to first be really disappointed but if you see it after you see we had a great World Cup. What I see until now, I;m really happy with the performance of our players, they are really in good shape. We talked already about Casemiro but you see Bruno (blows cheeks), great World Cup until now. Diogo, in two games, did really well. If I see the English, all three are performing magnificent. Rapha Varane is back, is doing well. So I'm really happy with the performances of all our players.

From the first moment, I recognised huge potential. And now to get out the potential, I believe when Marcus's positioning is on the back of the defending line, there is almost no better player in the world. There is Mbappe in this moment, a type like him. But when he (Rashford)'s getting in that position, he's great and you see he's really improved also out of possession. You see the second goal against Wales when he's winning the ball for the team and then it was Foden who finished and I see him do that all the time, the first press, he's doing a really good job there for England.

That's one of the first things I said to him: was come to training and smile. We bring him exercises that hopefully bring players joy. They have to be effective but they have to be joy as well and that gives you energy when you are happy, when you see the benefit of it you can be happy. Actually, Marcus was one from the start who came with a smile to Carrington and left with a smile day by day and from the first moment, it really was a joy to work with him. I recognise his talent and his finishing talent, great.

For instance, the headed goal against West Ham United, I don't think he makes goals like that so often. But he's investing in it, I triggered him a little bit, he worked with our specific coaches on it, on finishing with headers and then you see he got the benefit from it. So when I say he is the one who plays on the shoulder from the defending line, make sure you're coming in such situations and it's really difficult to stop him.

I don't know everything. I don't want to [intrude] in their private lives, personal lives. But of course, I talk also about their personal circumstances. I believe he is happy, yeah.

I can't answer that question. He has to make a decision and only what we can do is to show him that this is the best club to be in and that is what we can do and it has to do with the culture of the club, but also in the way we are working, working together, it has to do with the way we play, the way we train, are we offering the right environment to progress further on and it's also a financial issue as well. So if we do that, if we can about the ambitions and how we want to fulfil the ambitions etc. these talks we will have with him and then it is up to him to make the decision. It's one-and-a-half year, he will be here.

First we didn't see him the last games for United, so he wasn't in the right status, in the right fitness state, so now he's on an individual programme and we want him to finish that programme and hopefully, we see him back soon.

He’s not fit enough to be here.

Sometimes there are circumstances with fitness and mood. Now he’s on a physical programme and our aim is to get him back as quickly as possible.

He was good but also when the league started he played some good games like Liverpool, Leicester and Arsenal. After we got a drop of level and what happens sometimes you don’t know why or what is causing it. That is what we’re doing now, trying to research and now we try to get him back there. It’s a combination of physical but also mentally.

I think there’s huge competition in England. When I see the front line the manager really has choices there. Even now in the World Cup for him every game is difficult who to start because there’s so much talent in the offensive line and there’s big competition now. When you don’t show it week by week you can fall out of the squad which is what happened.

Most of the time it comes slowly. On the tour he played really well, the start of the league he played really well, after the break his performance was lower. First you observe but then also the stats back it up and in the start of the season he had goals and assist and his key moments and key actions and it became less and less.

I think I just gave it. He’s not here we want to bring him back as quickly as possible but I can’t give a prognosis of when that will be.

I think he’s doing really well, a really good World Cup. Really consistent and a good factor in the defending line for England.

That was nothing against him. Varane and Lindelof I’m in a good position because they are consistent and stable and our centre halves have a really high level.

The first challenge for him is to be available and fit which firstly he has to be responsible for it but we have to support him in all the ways we can. We have seen when he is available he has a massive impact on our game. He has 350 minutes, four goals and two assists. That’s a really good record. In parts of his game like pressing he is doing a really good job for the team linking up the play. For our team he’s a really important player and we need that profile.

I think he is but he was so disappointed that he had bad luck with the injury. In the past maybe something he did wrong I don’t know but now it was also bad luck and you come in a process from injuries and now we have to stop the process and we get him and he gets himself in a better position so that he’s fit and available. For his game and development and progress it would be great.

Sometimes, not only just with him. Players need it and have to be backed.

I have had several talks with Jadon. I don’t think he will be back next week, no.

Yes, I knew it would be a difficult project. Manchester United was not in the circumstances that you would expect of them and I think now we’re in the right direction but we’re far away from where we need to be. I see the progress from observation and also from the data that confirms the progression.

A lot about our way of play. I see us progressing and now the first objective is to get back on track because when they come back from the World Cup they have been in different styles and systems. We have seen against Man City, that was our big problem in that game, we played in a different way and because we want to be dominant and proactive and you see also in this World Cup many nations are playing passive and waiting and playing on the reaction. Players come back and they have been playing six weeks in a different environment and different style of play and then they have to get back to our style and system and our rules and principles and it’s a team sport. So all XI have to be on the same page.

I was informed by the club but I’m not talking with the owners about this issue. My information is that it will only be good things because there will be more investment possible which is good. I look at the competition around the Premier League they all have the opportunity to invest, it’s a tough competition between seven or eight clubs. That’s a change in circumstances when you compare with five or 10 years ago so the competition is much tougher. Newcastle are coming even West Ham maybe not now in the table but they have huge investment, Spurs definitely and then City and Liverpool I don’t need to talk about them, Chelsea I don’t need to talk about them. Quickly count seven or eight clubs that can compete in the league. Even at the bottom I don’t see weak teams, they’re all strong. There’s no easy games.

No. They have done well. They did the right investments and that is what you have to value. Make the right environment and culture and he has done really well.

Richard Arnold told me.

They’re open and transparent.

We spoke about the culture we want we spoke about objectives, goals and the culture and he confirmed it won’t change, it will be even better because more money will become available for this project.

Yes. I think it’s also about strategy not just money. It’s clear that when you don’t have the right players and quality players you will not be successful and achieve the targets you set. The competition is really tough so you need the right players.

We are in a better, a good direction. But still there is a lot of room for improvement.

I am happy with the way the players perform and the fact they play as a team with the right spirit and the right mentality. But there is always a battle to keep that progress going. It means keeping the high standards. I always say, satisfaction makes you lazy. If you are too satisfied with yourself and the team, you will not maintain those high standards. It’s up to me to control that and set a good example. We have to live the high standards all the time and they we can compete with the best clubs in the Premier League and achieve our goals.

I have met them, yes.

Yeah.

I don’t speak to them that often but I’ve met them and I’ve spoken to them before I was appointed and when i was appointed. We spoke about how we will work together and how we are going to achieve our objectives but the most contact with Richard.

Actually both didn’t upset me. Where we were at the start of the season, we were just not good enough. I knew it when i stepped in that we would have days like that, that we would have defeats. And, we were a little bit unlucky because Lindelof and Marital fell out with injuries in our last pre-season game. All pre season they were in the line up, then you have to change. It can happen that you lose games. I wasn’t happy, don’t get me wrong.. But these things were going to happen.

Nothing makes me mad, I think my approach to life is that when you come into a new environment , you have to adapt. We come into a new country we adapt and I want to live this culture. The people are always kind, it’s been lovely.

So, I can only back him. I’ve been asked many times if he is good enough [to play for me] and it is clear he is good enough to play at the highest level. And then it is up to him to show that confidence on the pitch and he didn’t show that in all the games. When he is playing with his confidence like now he is a massively important player for us and that is what everyone expects. That’s what Harry expects from himself. He has that high standard, he wants to play at the highest level, he wants to lead the defensive line, so it is up to him. I’m sure he has the potential to play in our style and fit into our system.

He has, for England, almost all the time good games. He had a period in Manchester where he performed badly and then of course there are difficulties but when he is confident in himself, he will put that on the pitch. When he is working hard you will get that confidence and you are seeing that with the way he is playing for England. We want him to bring that back to Manchester with him so he can bring it on the pitch for Manchester United. I expect from him, the team knows what they expect from him. If he does that he will be a great player for us.

That is what I said. When I choose Rapha it is nothing against Harry. Sometimes it is because one player is a lot better than the other. But I think I have two or three good players there in the right centre-back position. After Brentford, I chose. I had a feeling I had to change there – personal but I had to change the mentality. He was unlucky that moment was bad for him but it doesn’t say anything about his quality that he can’t do it or my opinion about his quality. Rapha came in and is doing a good job. There are laws of the game in top football you have to take your chance. Your chance will always come. The only thing he has to do is train well, perform well, he has games he has rhythm and his chance will come. He will have a chance to show it and then he’s in and he will play.

Only when he doesn’t want to be in these circumstances anymore. Until that moment, I am happy with him. I have said it to him and you, I can do nothing more. It is up to him to contribute to play himself into the team. There are laws of the game. We have 16-18 players in the squad and that is what you need at the top level if you want to play for trophies. All the number of games we have to cover and then it is about the players who construct the best team, and that team we will pick. It is not thing to do with being personal.

I wanted him to stay from the first moment until now. He wanted to leave, it was quite clear. And when a player definitely doesn’t want to be in this club then he has to go, clear.

The interview I think, as a club, you can’t accept. There will be consequences. To make that step he knew the consequences. Before he never told me.

During the season there was no window but until that moment he never told me ‘I want to leave’. [Gestures to suggest everyone knew Ronaldo wanted out] You don’t have to see it.

Yes, so it is. In the summer we had one talk. He came in and said ‘I will tell you in seven days if I want to stay’. Then he came back and said ‘I want to stay’. Until that moment (the interview) I never heard anything.

I don’t actually know. It was not my objective. It looks like it, but it was not my objective. We wanted him to be part of our project, to contribute to Manchester United because he is a great player. He has such a great history, but it’s the past and we have to look into the future and I don’t spend my energy on it. I did everything to bring him into the team because I value his quality.

I think we didn’t have to discuss it. It was quite clear. Richard, John, me.

Yes, potentially, should he fit in. It is theoretical.

Definitely not. Last year he scored 24 goals, yes? So what does this team need? We need goals.

We can focus. We have set the standards for the future. I believe our performances will confirm that we are going in the right direction.